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Advocate commissioner submits Sambhal mosque survey report in sealed cover
Advocate commissioner Ramesh Raghav also submits a three-page covering letter along with the 45-page survey report.
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A court-appointed advocate commissioner on Thursday submitted a survey report of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal in the court of civil judge (senior division) in a sealed packet.
Advocate commissioner Ramesh Raghav also submitted a three-page covering letter along with the 45-page survey report. The report has 60 pictures taken during the survey and videography content. The advocate commissioner also submitted around four hours of videography of the survey in a pen drive.
“Advocate commissioner Ramesh Raghav submitted the survey report of the Shahi Jama Masjid today (Thursday). The court accepted the report and sealed it in another packet. The report has been kept in the court’s record room,” said Prince Sharma, district government counsel, Sambhal.
“Due to the Supreme Court’s order, the report will not be opened. Only after the top court’s order, any further decision will be taken in the case,” Sharma added.
The Supreme Court on December 12, 2024 restrained courts across the country from admitting fresh suits or passing orders in pending ones seeking a survey of mosques to determine whether temples lie beneath them.
The top court’s order halted ongoing proceedings in seven such cases in different courts across the state.
The top court’s order halts proceedings in the Allahabad high court and trial courts related to mandir -masjid disputes in Badaun, Sambhal, Jaunpur, Varanasi, Mathura, Agra and Lucknow.
Following a petition by Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain on November 19, 2024, the court of civil judge (senior division) on the same day appointed Ramesh Raghav as the advocate commissioner to carry out the survey of the Shahi mosque. Jain’s petition claimed that the Shahi mosque was the Hindu temple- Hari Har Mandir- dedicated to Lord Kalki.
The Hindu side has always maintained the presence of scriptures related with the Hindu religion inside the Shahi mosque.
Hindu petitioners had claimed that a Harihara temple was demolished to build the mosque and wanted worshipping rights at the complex -- a charge dismissed by the Muslim side. The Hindu side maintains that the mosque has two banyan trees and a well. Banyan tree is worshipped by Hindus.
The advocate commissioner carried out an initial survey of the mosque on November 19 evening in the presence of district magistrate Rajender Pensiya and district police chief KK Bishnoi.
A second round of the survey began on November 24, sparking protests and violence that claimed four lives. On next hearing on November 29, the court had granted 10 days’ to complete the report.
Jain has made six parties to the case, including the Union of India through the Ministry of Home Affairs, Union of India through the Ministry of Culture, director general, Archeological Survey of India, Superintendent ASI of Meerut circle, district magistrate of Sambhal and management committee of the Jama Masjid, Sambhal.
An important religious and historical site for the Muslim community, the Shahi mosque is believed to have been constructed around the 16th century by Mir Hindu Beg, a Mughal general. It is located in the heart of the city in Mohalla Kot Purvi.
The Shahi mosque is a protected monument notified on December 22, 1920 under Section 3, sub-section (3) of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904. It figures on the ASI’s website (Moradabad division) in the list of centrally protected monuments.
